I've only made one quilt and have not had one longarmed.....What is a reasonable price to pay to have it done? Doesn't that really increase the cost of the quilt dramatically? But it is sooooo pretty!

price varies a lot-depending on type of quilting-stipples cost less than a custom design. what size is your quilt ?most charge by the square inch or square foot.

I am paying $85.00 for a queen size plus shipping.

Longarming can cost as little as $.01 per square inch for a large, overall meander to as much as $.10 (maybe more) for heirloom quilting. Rates vary, depending on the area in which you live and sometimes on the expertise of the longarm quilter. Also, many longarmers have a minimum fee, so if it's a small quilt, that may come into play.

Do you send it somewhere and then it must be sent back? Or do you have someplace locally that you take it? My quilt is a full-sized quilt (a little smaller than queen)

I do know that it can cost a fortune. I paid $87 for batting included for a 65" x 85" quilt. BUT she is an artist. LOVE IT. Like someone else said, it depends on how long they have been doing it (longer usually means they have perfected their technique) and if you want all over meandering or what they call " pantograph" or if you want custom. :) I like both ways and I decide by which person it is for and how much I want to spend on that person...I always get custom stitching for mine,lol. :)

Thanks....your input has been so helpful.....I got a quote of $350 for a King-sized quilt....and wondered how many people are willing to pay that???

It depends on what you want to have done to your quilt. A simple meander doesn't take much time and therefore, not much money. Time is money! So the more time a LAer spends on your quilt, the more it will cost.

Make sure your quilt is as flat and square as you can make it.

Shipping a quilt is not as expensive and you might think. I have several ladies who mail their quilt tops and backs back to me. A couple of them send several at a time, whatever they can pack into a flat rate box. When I send them back, I don't use a flat rate box because I've added batting and the quilt by itself is much lighter. Depending on the size of the quilt, cost to ship back has been between $5 (for a baby quilt) to $15 for a huge quilt with poly batting (the heaviest).

Unless you save every receipt for your fabric, don't bother with insurance, the PO won't pay on it. For completed quilts, an appraisal will work, but you can't get appraisals on unfinished quilts. By buying shipping labels through the PO online, both my customer and I get tracking information.

Yes, some quilts will cost that much; however, in this area, you're going to get a custom design for that amount.

As to whether you send it out or find someone locally, it depends on where you are. Most of the people I quilt for are local, but I have a couple of ladies who send them to me in the mail. Some areas have a lot of longarm quilters; other areas have none.

You got custom stitching for only 1 1/2 cents a square foot including binding you got a GREAT DEAL!! I would most definitely NOT consider that a fortune to pay for custom LA quilting by a person you consider to be an artist. Please know that you are paying a rock bottom bargain basement price for custom LAing.